EXCLUSIVE: Former NRL star Danny Wicks has been released from jail and opens up on life behind bars

FORMER NRL star Danny Wicks reveals to
Phil Rothfield how he coped with 18 months behind bars since he was convicted for drug trafficking.

Phil \"Buzz\" Rothfield

DailyTelegraphMarch 30, 201312:55am

PRISONER number 467935 walks out of Glen Innes jail to begin rebuilding a life shattered by drugs.

This is not any old jailbird. It is former NRL star Danny Wicks, the convicted drug dealer who has spent the past 18 months behind bars.

Once a rampaging front-row forward who packed down at the Knights and the Dragons, Wicks, now 27-years-old, has spent the past year-and-a-half working as a forklift driver at the prison timber mill.

He earned $250,000-a-year while playing with Newcastle. Inside, he earned a maximum of $55 per week.

As Wicks walked to freedom yesterday, it was hard to recognise the man who was once a cult figure in the game.

He is almost 20kg lighter and looks nothing like the 128kg monster who played 69 first grade games between 2006 and 2009.

Wicks left Glen Innes jail right on 8.30am, slapped his dad Gary on the leg, and screamed: "I'm free."

Making an NRL comeback was the last thing on his mind.

LIFE INSIDE

Wicks pleaded guilty in 2011 to three drug trafficking charges involving 150 ecstasy tablets and more than 20 grams of methylamphetamine. In passing down his sentence, Newcastle District Court judge Helen Syme said Wicks was "one of many" members of a joint criminal enterprise.

Wicks entered prison in the same week as the 2011 grand final. He described a typical day in prison as like "Groundhog Day".

"The first siren, which I won't miss, goes off at 6am then another one at 6.30. Another one at 6.40, 6.45, 6.55 and 7.00. It's ridiculous.

"You make breakfast from the rations they supply. You get your litre of milk every couple of days and they supply toast and butter.

"You're out by seven, straight to work. You can take food for the smoko break then you finish at 2pm."

From there he worked on his fitness, seven afternoons a week.

One of his new mates inside was an old gym instructor and an expert on dieting.

"It's no resort but there's a field to run on, a hill and some equipment," Wicks said,

The food was so bad he spent most of his weekly wage on fresh meat.

"They supply dinner but it's absolute rubbish," he said. "It's shocking. I don't know how some blokes survive on it.

"There's no nutritional value in any of it. I earned anything from $10 to $55 a week for 38 hours. I just spent the money on getting decent food and cigarettes, until I gave them up four months ago."

At 6pm the inmates were locked into their units. Wicks shared a dormitory with between eight to 12 other inmates.

They had a common area, a toilet, a shower and a small enclosed area for a bed. He had his own $300 for a 12 inch television.

THE PRISONERS

He spent his first few weeks at Cessnock jail after being sentenced to three years, with an 18-month no-parole period.

"Most of them knew who I was," he says. "You don't want to have profile when you're in there but you've got it.

"At the end of the day you just stand out. At the end of the day, they were mostly a good bunch of lads who had made mistakes like I did.

"I never felt threatened or in danger or anything like that."

RUGBY LEAGUE

Wicks' release from prison comes at a time when the NRL and other Australian sporting codes are dealing with wide-ranging investigations into drug use and organised crime by ASADA and the Australian Crime Commission.

Wicks, however, has not been keeping up with the latest events in league. He has not watched a game in four years.

"I guess my head's in the sand," he said. "You try not to think about what you have blown. I couldn't cop watching it so I stopped."

The whole episode has cost Wicks more than $1 million.

That's four years of football earnings plus his legal costs. His father Gary, a respected and reasonably wealthy businessman, has helped help him through.

At this stage, Wicks harbours no ambition to return to the game, even though his four-year drug suspension expires at the end of next season.

"To be honest I really haven't given (playing again) that much thought," he said.

"My focus was getting through my sentence and getting back home.

"I'm fitter now than I've ever been because I trained hard every day while inside. It kept me focused and helped me get through the days.

"But I'm certainly not about to put up my hand and say I want to play again. There are so many more important things awaiting me like catching up with my family and friends, getting a job and kick-starting my life.

"If I eventually decide I want to have a crack then so be it but it's really not high on my agenda at the moment. We'll just see what happens."

THE FUTURE

Wicks hopes his story can serve as a cautionary tale for children and teenagers about the dangers of drugs.

"You don't have to play football to be a mentor," he said. "What I've had and what I've got now is enough to tell kids to think twice.

"Everybody makes mistakes but it's the smarter people that learn from them.

"But If any community group asked me to get involved in a program for teenagers, I'd do it."

THE SUPPORT

Family and friends have been absolutely crucial in assisting Wicks deal with his incarceration.

"My mum and dad have been phenomenal," he said. "It was hard for me being in there, but harder on my family. There were times they struggled a bit like any parent with a son in jail but they couldn't have been more supportive."

Then there was his mate Dave, an old Digger who served in Timor and Iraq. "Dave comes from Brisbane but drove down every second week to see me without fail," he said.

"It was a 12-hour round trip for him. Great people like him get you through. There have been a few messages from my old team mates but I did what I did and it had nothing to do with them."

GETTING OUT

First stop yesterday was his grandfather's house in Grafton for a cup of tea and chat. It's been a long time.

I later caught up with Wicks' at the family beach house in Yamba for this interview.

"It's the best day of my life," Wicks said. "There are no immediate plans. "I'm just glad to be free."